Veteran Launch Update

As we wrap up our fiscal year, we are celebrating the growth Veteran Launch has seen in the past six months, in no small part due to the funding partners invested in our success and the success of our clients.

We are now operating from San Diego full-time. We’re thrilled to share that Darius Mahajer has transitioned from our San Francisco team to our Veteran Launch team, leading our efforts to expand our support of military family-owned companies in Southern California. We now have Veteran Launch staff operating in the Sacramento area, the Bay Area, and San Diego, ready to connect with you about your small business needs.

To date, we’ve funded 68 veteran-owned companies with $9.3 million of loan capital. These businesses have created and sustained 595 jobs, offering opportunities to other veterans as employees and as vendors.

If you have questions about your business development, don’t hesitate to give us a call. If we can connect you with resources to help you, we will.

Credit Tip

Resource For Your Business: CalSavers

There are many low-cost or free resources available for you as an entrepreneur and for your small business. We know many of our clients want to grow their business to be able to offer retirement benefits to their employees (and themselves), but the cost and adminstration of those programs can seem overwhelming. Our partners at Small Business Majority are helping to connect resources to California’s entrepreneurs.

CalSavers offers a portable retirement savings plan for employees who do not have retirement benefits through their employer. This program is run by the State of California, offering minimal cost and risk to employers. 80% of people employed by small businesses do not have access to retirement savings plans, and this program helps close that gap.

Thank You To Our Funders

Veteran Launch is grateful for our funders for their continued support of our work. Bank of America recently announced Main Street Launch would receive $2.2 million as a part of their new program supporting veteran entrepreneurs across the U.S. The funding will allow us to continue to expand Veteran Launch throughout California, to provide $2 million in lending, and to support our program operations over two years. Click here to learn more.

Resource For Your Business: Gusto

Veteran Launch partners with different service providers to help connect our clients with resources to help your small business start and grow. We have partnered with Gusto, a payroll, benefits, and HR company, and we want to share more about their services with you.

Gusto has relatively low fees for various small business solutions, including payroll proccessing, employee benefits options, workers’ comp, and more. Click here to see their tiered service plans. Click here for a deeper explanation of their various services.

If you’re interested in trying Gusto, the first month is free (giving you a chance to test it out and then make a decision). If you allow Veteran Launch to enroll your company, there are some cost-savings options available. Click here to see a demo of Gusto’s platform.

Advising Corner: Your Business’ Online Presence Matters

Veteran Launch is a program of Main Street Launch. Main Street Launch’s Vice President – Marketing & Executive Projects Katie Taylor offers the following small business tip.

Even for local, neighborhood businesses, an online presence is critical for new customers to find you. More than 97% of customers use the internet to find local businesses. This number has been growing steadily since smartphones have become more available and mainstream. Positive reviews make 73% of customers trust a local business more than no reviews. Yelp also reports that everyone one star increase in your business’ Yelp rating means 5-9% increase in revenue. If your business is not online, you’re missing potential revenues that can help your business thrive.

Meet Our Clients: Degrees Plato

Two years ago, the husband-and-wife team Richard and Mercedes, first thought about opening a family-friendly bar and restaurant. They fell in love with Oakland’s Laurel District, where Degrees Plato now operates, and they feel fortunate for their great neighbors and supportive community. Now Degrees Plato has 18 employees, and Richard and Mercedes see their business as a positive addition to a friendly and vibrant neighborhood.

“Working with Veteran Launch was really helpful because they provided detailed instructions about what to do next,” says Rich. They used the loan to buy equipment, pay for labor costs, purchase inventory, and for marketing.

Resource For Your Business: Venturize

Venturize, powered by Small Business Majority, gives business owners the unbiased information you need to learn about small business lending, become loan-ready, and prepare to successfully complete the borrowing process.

Their site offers education about the loan process, information about different kinds of loans, and connections to local organizations that can help your business get funded. Their blog also features small business news, profiles of entrepreneurs, and more resources to get you loan ready.